18-year-old man arrested in Portland triple homicide

An 18-year-old man has been charged with murder, accused of fatally shooting two Portland high school students and a 20-year-old man while the three were riding in a car together in North Portland last year.

Omar Mohammed Osman was transferred from MacLaren Youth Correctional Center to the Downtown Jail at 1:44 p.m. Thursday to face charges in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Police said they suspected at least two other people were involved in the shooting and had not been arrested.

Eskender Tamra, 17, was traveling with Babu Daudi, 19, and Patrick Johnson Jr., 20, when their car was hit by a volley of bullets from three people on the sidewalk of North Foss Avenue near University Park, in March. 25, 2023.

Tamra was a junior at Franklin High School and Daudi was a senior at Roosevelt High School named Isaac. In emails to school families shortly after the shooting, officials described the two students as “quiet, reserved and respectful.”

Osman faces a 27-count indictment that charges him with six counts of first-degree murder, four counts of second-degree murder, seven counts of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of possession of a firearm, seven counts of recklessly endangering another person. person and one count of first-degree animal abuse.

The 10 murder charges cover different alleged theories about the killings. The indictment was not publicly filed in court records Thursday.

A grand jury heard testimony in the case in March of this year, police said. Police did not say what crime Osman was being held for at the youth correctional center, only describing it as unrelated to the homicides.

“This murder in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood was not only tragic in the loss of three young lives, but it deeply shook our entire community,” Police Chief Bob Day said in a statement Thursday evening.

Police had responded to reports of heavy shooting at 12:23 a.m. that Saturday, finding the three victims shot inside a light-colored sedan on North Foss Avenue near North Foss Court. Doorbell video footage shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive showed three people on foot who appeared to shoot repeatedly at a light-colored sedan. The footage recorded the sound of about three dozen gunshots.

The youngest victim, Tamra, immigrated to Oregon from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with her older sister to pursue better educational opportunities. Their mother had moved to Portland in 2009, and they were reunited in 2016. He worked two jobs, working at Fred Meyer and Taco Bell while managing his school work at Franklin High School in Southeast Portland. He was supposed to be moving from one job to another when he was shot, his sister said.

His friends described him as driven, outgoing and “genuinely kind.”

Last November, the FBI offered a $25,000 reward to anyone with information leading to an arrest and conviction in the triple homicide.

Day thanked people who shared information with police.

“I hope this indictment represents a first step toward healing for the victims’ families and our entire community,” he said.

Police are asking anyone with additional information about the case to contact Detective Jason Koenig at [email protected] or 503-823-0889 or Detective William Winters [email protected]. gov 503-823-0466, referring to Case No. 23-77440.

— Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Contact her at 503-221-8212, [email protected], follow her on @maxoregonianor on LinkedIn.

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